Anxiety and Depression in Pediatric Patients with Celiac Disease

Mental health is a growing concern in pediatric celiac disease (CD). This study utilized the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) to investigate anxiety and depression symptom rates. Participants were children ages 8 to 17 years (M = 11.7, SD = 2.7; N = 175) with biopsy‐proven CD (Median = 1.1 years post‐diagnosis, IQR = 0–4) categorized into groups based on the child's age, caregiver or child respondent, presence or absence of comorbidities, and gluten‐free diet duration. Self‐reported RCADS scores showed 39% of children having clinically significant concerns for anxiety or depression (P < 0.0001) but only 7% of caregiver‐proxy RCADS scores indicated significant concerns for the child's anxiety and 14% for the child's depression. Rates of child‐reported anxiety and depression symptoms were significantly higher for those without medical comorbidities than those with (P = 0.04). Therefore, screening for mental health concerns, particularly anxiety and depression, should be routinely performed in pediatric patients with CD.